


a brewing storm

by FunnyLittleOwl



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Everyone has a lot of questions, F/M, Gen, Inspired by the movie teaser shown at Celebration 2019, Minor Finn/Rose Tico, POV Outsider, Protective Finn, Rey and Kylo meet again after the events of The Last Jedi, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Trailer, Yavin 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-08-23 07:14:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20238835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FunnyLittleOwl/pseuds/FunnyLittleOwl
Summary: Finn wondered if he should have seen this coming.His eyes were a storm, the Jedi Killer kneeling in front of the giant.Hers were a full blown torment in the rain. She would know; she was the one who created it.Finn watched as Rey, the last living Jedi, met the intruder’s eyes again with a newfound sense of responsibility. And reluctance.





	a brewing storm

Finn wondered if he should have seen this coming.

_Brewing_, like a furious storm forming over the damp, impenetrable jungles at the moon Yavin IV.

They were stuck in the desolate star for three cycles now, sitting ducks and useless pawns in the war that broke loose somewhere across the galaxy, without them. 

War, as they came to see, waited for no one - much less for the Generals’ careful laid out plans and Poe’s surprisingly foolish but expected acts of disobedience, to which he called _ bravery _ \- that set them adrift here in the first place.

They should be orbiting the planet, awaiting orders, not walking its swamps with drenched boots, zero working engines and absolutely no sense of direction. 

This place was ancient, and they were not welcome here.

At least Finn wasn’t.

He had a feeling Poe felt the same, although the pilot had said nothing of the kind since they’d arrived.

It was clear, though, that the ghosts of millennia past that inhabited Yavin seemed to be pretty much alive to the two Force users in front of him - who were set to meet _ here _ at the end of all things - by the Force’s mysterious “design”.

That was beyond Finn’s understanding before meeting his scavenger friend, and would continue to be after their paths ceased to be aligned. The ways of the Force were not for the likes of him - of soldiers and gears and horses, the mundane.

It was for the giants, like the people before him. People who moved mountains, who tore worlds apart, sometimes even for each other. But _ always _ by the Force’s unspoken desire, somehow.

So yes, he understood that perhaps one day his and Rey’s path would drift apart.

It already had – little did he know –, the day Rey’s path and eventually the galaxy’s fate had intrinsically become entwined with _ his. _

Finn wondered if he should have seen this coming.

His eyes were a storm, the Jedi Killer kneeling in front of the giant.

Hers were a full blown torment in the rain. She would know; she was the one who created it.

It should scare Finn, but honestly, he could just feel terrible pain echoing over those thunderous skies.

It _ hurt_, and it hurt for a thousand light years before it hurt them; before it even _ reached _ them, and it only brushed Finn’s entire existence - but _ this _ he understood, _ this _ was the whole reason he was fighting still.

Like someone really special to him had told him once, before saving him of certain doom.

Poe’s eyes were ice as he stared at their captive prisoner. Finn wished then he could see his own.

Drifting paths might not be a novelty to her, Finn noted. But not without ostensibly breaking her calm.

She took a deep breath.

Finn watched as Rey, the last living Jedi, met the intruder’s eyes again with a newfound sense of responsibility. 

“What do you want?” she rasped unwillingly, as if acting out a play she hadn’t read. As if she was still figuring out what Ren’s part in the story was.

_Nemesis? Foe?_

His expression softened at the anticipated greeting.

“A word,” he answered. “That’s all.”

_Friend? Ally, maybe?_

“You have five seconds to explain to me what you’re doing here before I blast you,” she assessed the situation bluntly, lifting her weapon in alleged threat.

“I came to find you.”

She raised her eyebrows befuddled, but his words silenced her, so he continued, “I know now what we are supposed to do. He _ can _ be defeated. And you must help me stop him, Rey. It will take the two of us.” 

“You… defected?” she said, seemingly at loss for words. 

“I was never on his side to begin with,” he replied in that clipped, rushed way of his. “This is as much your war as it is mine.”

The “whys” remained unsaid, but the questions were out in the open.

The storm had made it cold - colder than usual - but while Finn and Poe embraced the harsh coldness when it came to dealing with Kylo Ren, Rey’s brown eyes revealed impossible warmth.

This warmth, this _ fire_, had impossible implications, Finn thought.

The dangerous thing was that it mirrored Ren’s.

_ Lover? _

_ Impossible. _

But then again, what did Finn know of the will of the Force.

Even worse; his friend’s apparently broken heart.

*

There was shouting, spiteful words; after. 

Rey accused the former Supreme Leader of _ sabotage_.

In the list of Finn’s priorities right then, admittedly that wasn’t quite on top, but sure. Let her lash out.

Ren _ did _ ruin their only way of getting out of this damned moon by crashing his TIE silencer over their (poorly put together, but still) communication site.

The darksider, in the wake of Rey’s verbal assault, promptly escalated their fight into proper yelling, which scared BB-8 into hiding behind a rock.

It had something to do with her being “stupidly dense” and “holding onto yet another lie the Jedi fed her”; and at this moment Kylo Ren tossed the Ancient Jedi Book Rey was carrying over Poe’s head with the Force, landing precariously on the ground with a violent thud.

That was the last drop.

Rey stepped even closer into his personal space with vengeance, holding up a finger to his face and ready to counter attack – when something strange happened to them.

It was like a shift in gravity; like time speeding and slowing down all at once.

Rey had warned them about it; about that “bond” of theirs.

Finn only believed in what he could see, which now meant he had to stop pretending it wasn’t true.

They_ were _ connected, even before the shift. That was clear as day.

And then Finn knew… he should have seen it coming.

Maybe he was the last, late like thunder after lightning.

But to him it felt like watching a tragedy unfold slowly before his very eyes.

Kylo Ren grabbed her arm, not unkindly.

He told her to look at him. 

She did, and for a second, it appeared to the world like a most intimate scene.

But Ren’s eyes turned focused, decisive, as hers went glassy and took them both to a private place of his mind. 

When she came back to it, several minutes later, her expression had changed.

“We don’t have time,” Ren whispered in defeat. “Please, Rey – let me teach you this time.”

Whatever his friend saw in there, it was enough to convince her.

Rey nodded, although she took her arm off his grip as she noticed Finn _ now and here_, back in the land of the living, staring disapprovingly.

Fuming for answers; from them, but especially her.

Ren, he understood. After all, she was _ Rey_. 

Beauty and goodness and – _ light _ personified.

And wasn’t the dark side supposed to be fueled by longing for what one cannot have?

So, yeah, Ren he understood. 

_ Been there myself_, Finn sympathized. 

But Rey?

How could anyone be able to love a… monster? A patricide scum, a relentless killer like Kylo Ren?

_ How did all this endless war and suffering brought us here? _

_ Whose sins are we atoning for? _

_ Why _her?

Suddenly, Finn felt a rush of fury run over him. _ Not my friend. Not her, you bastard. _

Before he was even able to act, his feet were held in place like they were frozen on the spot. 

He looked up, confused, and saw Rey lift her hand up in defense of _ him_.

“Finn, no,” she begged, “He is right. There _ is _ a way to defeat Palpatine. And I will need him alive for that.”

“Rey, I don’t think–” Poe tried to intervene, but she shook her head again.

“I know what you think. But please, Poe. Just trust me.”

Ren watched the scene unfold between the group of friends with detached interest. 

“May we begin?” he asked in sultry tones.

Poe gave Rey one last glare, which spoke volumes about what he thought about this whole situation. But he gave up, going back to trying to contact the Resistance’s tower with whatever they had left in hands.

Finn himself wasn’t so convinced.

He refused to leave, relegating himself to watching the pair from a distance, as they circled around each other – _the calm before a storm_ – until finally drawing their lightsabers.

The following hours were filled with deep concentration by the two Force users as they mutually tried to best one another in combat. 

It became clear to Finn that Ren was trying to teach Rey some sort of technique – something that required a hell of a lot acrobatics – while also swinging her blade in a certain way that hit his Force shield from the upside down.

At some point, Ren said that she had the potential to become a powerful Atari if she wanted, whatever that meant.

They danced with each other all day, sparring like one.

Eventually, even Finn left them alone, after misreading Ren’s intentions. They were clearly training Force-related moves, not trying to actually kill one another.

He walked back all the way, confusion written all over his face.

*

Finn found them later, when the storm broke out.

It was already night; and Poe and the rest of the crew got justifiably worried. 

But something told Finn he should search for them by himself, and so he did.

It felt cleansing; walking in the rain. There was no rush. He spent the entire afternoon thinking and he wasn’t even close to being done.

For the first time, Yavin seemed to welcome him, somehow telling him where he needed to go.

Finn didn’t understand much about destiny, he never did. Stormtroopers weren’t meant to last that long. But here he was, defying fate.

And maybe he wasn’t the only one.

When he finally encountered Rey and Kylo Ren sheltered from the rain under a large, branching tree, something he finally understood.

She was tucked under his cape, her head resting softly on his shoulder. Ren’s broad torso took the worst of the rain to himself, only letting a bit of drizzle hit her in her sleep.

Finn realized then, with some degree of awe... that he never really stood a chance.

He was over her by now, but still. He was grateful for Rose. For loving someone today as deeply as he did her. For Poe. For… whatever it is they had that Finn couldn’t quite put into words.

Because Rey… she belonged to someone else. She always had.

Her destiny was intertwined with Ren’s, since the beginning.

For better or worse.

Finn hoped it wouldn’t ruin her in the end. 

Ren stirred, blinking his eyes slowly.

Finn immediately panicked, worried the knight would catch sight of him hidden behind the tall trees.

Instead, Ren seemed unbothered, as if he didn’t even suspect they were being watched by an intruder.

He checked her heartbeat, a hand to her neck with gentleness Finn didn’t think him capable of. When he was satisfied, he let Rey go, pulling her closer to his chest without second thought. 

Ren went back to cradling her waist with a giant palm; the frown he wore all day seemingly vanished in her presence.

Her dark protector.

Finn considered the scene with a cold head.

He might not ruin her – that might not be possible, after all – but _ his _ ruin was inescapable. And he would burn gladly. 

Finn respected that.

Perhaps there was room for a change of heart where the mighty Kylo Ren was concerned.

Ren would burn for her.

For the worse, he would set aflame all who would oppose her.

The mighty Rey.

Finn hoped the galaxy wouldn’t suffer the cosmic ripples of such powerful devotion.

_ “Leave us,” _the wind hissed.

The brusque sound appeared to come from nowhere, but Finn knew better. He obeyed.

Come morning, no more questions were asked. 

Finally, they had a shot. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! This is my take on what happens during the teaser (or just a lot of hopeful wishing, lol).
> 
> Can't believe it's only 4 months until we get to watch it on the big screen! Till then, I would love to hear your feedback on this little ficlet <3
> 
> You can find me on twitter [here](https://twitter.com/funnylittleowl).


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